It is summer and it is traditional to complain about how warm it is. Weather also is always a popular subject. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) State of the Climate report shows the June 2010 average temperature for the contiguous United States was 71.4 degrees F, which is 2.2 degrees F above the long-term average (1901-2000). The average precipitation for June was 3.33 inches, 0.44 inch above the long-term average.

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In the US east, a deep layer of high
pressure dominated bringing a southerly influx of warm air, which contributed
to record high temperatures. This also affected the Southeast, South and
Central regions experienced their second, fifth and seventh warmest June on
record, respectively.

Only the Northwest averaged a temperature
below normal for June.

Record warm June temperatures
occurred in Delaware, New Jersey and North Carolina; each had average
temperatures between 5 and 6 degrees F above the long-term mean. Seventeen
other states had temperatures that ranked among their 10 warmest for June.

Only Oregon and Washington had below
normal average temperatures for June.

Halfway through 2010, Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island have experienced their warmest January-June
period on record. Eight other states in the Northeast and Great Lakes areas had
a top-10 warm January-June period. In contrast, Florida has observed its
seventh-coolest year to date on record.

Persistent warmth made the year’s
second quarter (April-June) much warmer than normal for 20 states, which had
either their warmest, or second-warmest such period on record. This contributed
to the warmest April-June on record for both the Northeast and Southeast
Climate Region.

The prevailing high pressure that
brought warmth to the South and Southeast also blocked many storm systems from
entering the region, increasing the threat of drought. However, the active
upper level pattern in the northern tier states alleviated drought conditions
and produced record flooding in the High Plains.

Precipitation during the year’s
second quarter (April-June) was more widespread as Iowa and Washington each had
its second wettest such period. It was Oregon’s fourth and Nebraska’s ninth
wettest while persistent dryness in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey has
resulted in their seventh, ninth and tenth driest such periods, respectively.

What does all this mean? Global warming is the increase in the average
temperature of Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century
and its projected continuation. Being an average some places will always be
cooler while other places will be warmer. An average value based on decades of
data does present a base mark for comparison. And though Us data is presented
here the rest of the world has a similar average increase.